Parental Instinct
by Rosabelle Meave Sterling
Summary: After what happened with the Indominus Rex on Isla Nublar, Raptor Handler Owen Grady went back to his home. But he only went back to find the other person who loved the dinosaurs as much as he did, Alexandra Shima. So they went back to the Island and started their own lives there, with the help of a donor who gave them some eggs from InGen to start their dinosaurs back up.


Everything was finally peaceful. Nothing was bothering them after they had settled into their remodeled living space. It was the perfect cross between the bungalow and a cabin, making the pair of handlers happy. Alexandra and Owen had gone their separate ways after the whole incident with the park. Alex had gone home and was working on her master's degree while Owen tried his best to find the woman who was rather good at hiding.

But when he found her, he'd brought her back with him to the island. The pair lived on the island together happily for a while. They'd found Blue and shown her where they were living and made sure she knew she was able to come around as she pleased, since they had made the bungalow-mansion dinosaur friendly with large entrances and places for them to sleep if they so choose.

And when it was reported that there were people living on the island, Duncan Lister got the report and saw it was his daughter. Since he had controlling interest in Masrani's companies, he had them hand the park over to the two handlers. And with it, a few eggs for them to hatch and rear as their own. Though he hadn't been good to her when she was younger, he wanted to make things better for her now. He was funding her schooling again and she was doing well with it as she always did. But to her, that park meant everything it seemed.

When someone showed up to the Island, Owen and Alex both met the person, a currier with a boat. He was their contact to the mainland and he would be bringing supplies and other things they would need. And when he handed over an envelope to Alex, she opened it and read the letter from her father detailing what had been done. Leaning against Owen, she sighed. "Who's this from?" Owen asked quietly.

"Duncan Lister," She answered calmly. "The other half of my genetic code," She answered hollowly.

"So… Your father?" He offered, looking down at her when she called him that. Alex looked up at him and sighed. "No. Fathers take care of you, the protect you, they raise you and make sure you're happy. Duncan took me from my mother, left me in the care of the Step-Monster who hated me because I would get the family fortune when he passes on, not her and wouldn't let me be myself. He put me in boarding school where I learned a lot, but I was tortured there. No one accepted me except my teachers," she explained. "So no. He is not my father. He's just starting to be one now… and I'm not sure he can do it."

She blinked a bit more when a crate was given to them with words on it. InGen Laboratories. Looking over at Owen she furrowed her brows and helped him get the crate opened. Inside there were eggs in heaters that were labeled with the type of dinosaur that was inside. She had Apatosaurus, male and female to get her herd back up, and there were two raptors, a male and female to help Owen as well. There were instructions on how to take care of them so they wouldn't breed out of control and she knew they needed that.

The pair brought everything up to their place and made sure the eggs were well taken care of. They introduced Blue to the eggs and immediately she took to them like they were her own. It didn't matter that some of them weren't her species. These were eggs and the velociraptor went right into Maternal Instinct mode. These young ones were now hers and she would make sure they were safe and cared for at all times. Blue could trust her alpha with the eggs, but the other human she wasn't exactly sure of yet. And she could tell something was different about the female with Alpha. He treated her not like her, so maybe she would have to accept that this female would be her alpha female. But these were still her eggs.

Alex took care of the herbivores, knowing that with the T-rex out of containment, she would be seeing a lot less of them around… Unless Rexy was feeding off the herd she lost. In which case that was completely acceptable to her, though she still wanted to keep her heart in the right place so when she found out there were less than before, she wouldn't be as mortified. Owen took care of Blue and by extension Rexy, though the T-Rex didn't need much taking care of. Rexy would go into her paddock so she could get away from things, but then come out to feed. She didn't go after the two humans because they weren't trying to do anything to her.

After a few weeks with the eggs, the couple humans were blessed with the sound of cracking egg shells and Blue's chirps to let them know the babies were hatching. Alex and Owen made their way into the room and Alex went to the herbivores while Owen went to the raptors. As the dinosaurs made their way out of their eggs, Alex saw to all her herbivores while Owen took care of his raptors. These young ones knew who their alphas were. Everything was going well with their hatching and she knew they'd need to be with them for a few months to get their bearings in the park. Blue took over mothering the hatchlings and she chirped a bit at the raptors who chirped back then looked at Owen. He nodded and started dealing with the raptors so they wouldn't bite anyone.

Alex smiled when a smaller than normal triceratops came out of her shell last. The little bundle cried for help and she pulled the pieces of shell from the dinosaur, the baby falling out onto the table. It whined and then saw Alex, getting a bit happier. Trying to stand, its knees were shaking and it made its way to Alex, baying happily at seeing her mother. "I will call her, Meave," She said softly. "For she will be loyal and fearsome just like the pirate queen she is named after."

"I've got Yankee, Zulu, and X-Ray," Owen replied. "What is it with you and the phonetic Alphabet?" Alex questioned, gazing up at him.

"Navy thing," He answered with a shrug, tending to his babies. "We'll make great parents," He stated. "It'll be wonderful. Especially with Blue to babysit."

Alexandra nodded at him and smiled. "We will be good parents. I'm very happy for them," She agreed, petting the young dinosaurs around her. "Now all we need to do is allow them to grow."

The pair of handlers nursed the infant dinosaurs and allowed them to play together around the house. The raptors were taught not to use their teeth on the herbivores and the triceratops learned not to use their newly growing horns to ram the raptors. The children played happily as Blue watched over them, being their nanny. But Meave mostly stayed with Owen and Alex, enjoying sitting on the couch with them while they watched movies, preferring Indiana Jones and the original Star Wars movies over other things. Meave just followed them around and would fall on her side and coo happily when they looked at her, giving them the dominance they deserved over her. Alex would rub her stomach and Owen would inevitably pick her up and bring her with them. Meave was happy with their family, not seeing it much different than normal. Soon Yankee, Zulu, and X-Ray joined in with the movie marathons and climbing all over Dad and Mom, resting on their heads and curling up in Owen's lap, since Alex always had Meave (She was a mama's girl after all). Soon enough all the dinosaurs were in the living room when they marathoned movies and TV shows, just enjoying the family atmosphere.

But as all good things come, they also must come to an end. They hatchlings became a bit too big to stay in the laps anymore, and the apatosaurs couldn't come inside since they were too tall. But Owen would train his raptors every day with Blue and Alex would train her herds as well. Soon enough, the raptors would learn to help out with the herbivores and keep them safe and contained.

"I miss when they were little," Alex remarked one day after a training session, as she sat with Owen on their porch, looking out over the water.  
"I miss it too," He agreed, picking her up and setting her in his lap. "But we have a chance to be parents again. They should be old enough to have clutches of their own soon."

"Or… maybe it could be sooner than that," She offered quietly, putting his hands over her stomach. She felt him tense and shook her head. "Not right now, but soon. Parental Instinct will kick in again. What's the harm in trying? We have the best babysitters, velociraptors and four herds of herbivores. Come on now."

Owen chuckled behind her and held her close, resting his chin on her shoulder. "And here I thought you might have lost that sass due to what happened. It's just been in hiding all along."

"Oh this isn't leaving ever," Alex countered. "Remember, they're going to make a park out of our sarcasm due to the mosquito in the amber. You started that, and I'm not letting it go." She chuckled a bit and smiled when she saw Meave coming up near them. Meave had taken up the responsibility of guard dog and she did it rather well. She and Blue got along the best, Blue occasionally hitching a ride on the herbivore's back and Meave making sure the raptor was safe going into a situation since she only had her teeth to defend her.

"Well our girls are getting along rather well," Owen remarked, seeing Blue and Meave playing around together. "Just like the two of us. Who would have thought this would end up this way?" Alex replied, smiling at the scene in front of them. How could this not make someone smile?

"Maybe you should write Duncan, let him know what's going on and how his investment is doing," the former navy sailor suggested softly, rubbing circles in her hips with his thumbs. Alex looked over her shoulder at him and blinked. "You want me to send him a thank you card for what he did?" She questioned, slightly shocked. But then she thought about it. None of this would have been possible without him. "Fine. I'll send Duncan a letter. But this still doesn't mean he's my father."

She looked over at the unlikely friends and saw them curled up with each other. "They look so sweet and innocent," She whispered. "They're the best of friends and I can't think of a better thing for them than that."

"The social interactions help them be better dinosaurs," Owen explained. "They learn how to do things and they don't end up like Indominus did. I'm just happy we haven't had any of your herd disappearing."

The Navajo nodded and sighed. "Rexy is still out there, so it is a possibility for it to happen. But I'm sure that things will be alright. I have come to terms with what may happen so I know the risks. It's just nature. And Nature always wins. And I can always write Duncan and tell him to keep supplies coming. He'll fund us since he screwed up so badly in my childhood. Like I told you; Parental instinct will always kick in at some point."

Owen nodded and held her close. "And sometime soon we'll get to have it again," He promised. He looked off into the sunset with Alex in his lap, everything going well with them on the island. This was all he wanted. A strong woman, his raptors, and a peaceful time where he knew that things could change in a moment, but didn't have to worry about any major casualties other than the two of them, and they could always get out of things.

"It's a good thing we stuck together," Alex commented, as the stars began to twinkle above them. "For survival, I mean."

"Yeah," He agreed with a chuckle. "For survival." He turned her head gently and kissed her lips happily, letting her know how he felt without words. Alex returned his kiss and relaxed against his chest, pulling away from his lips.

"I love you," She whispered.  
"I know," He answered, holding her hand in his as they sat under the stars and listened to the music of the dinosaurs calling out around the island.


End file.
